SMOKING CIGARETTES SUCKS SWEATY DONKEY BALLS

I smoked for about 4 years, usually spirits as well.

I quit smoking cold turkey, by "just doing it". I knew that trying to ween myself down wouldn't work, I needed to just start at one point saying that this is it, now I don't smoke anymore. It makes the reasoning simple. Can I have a cigarette? No, I can't. I didn't plan the date. I just woke up one day, and said yeah, this is it.

I also quit with half a pack of cigarettes left. I figured if I couldn't do that, quitting wasn't going to last that long. There would be temptation eventually, I should get used to it now.

One thing my father told me (he quit smoking at about the same age I did), which helped me immensely, was "The only cigarette you need to not smoke is the next one". And for some time, that was really important, I would basically be only worrying about like the next hour. Thinking yeah, I can make it one more hour. But it got easier over time.

It's hard to try and quit smoking when you drink or smoke weed. Both those things go hand in hand with smoking and it's really hard to not want a cigarette especially when under the influence and having fun.

So, it's good you're going for the big goal of stopping all the things altogether!

My best advice is to exercise or put your mind on fixing your place up or getting a hands on hobby.

Good luck!

Oh yeah, it's not the same for everyone. For me personally if I smoke weed I usually like to top it off with a smoke here and there. I gotta commend you if you can do it every now and then while smoking weed. Sadly, for me, it's not be alternative to smoke one or the other. A lot of people I know are the same way.

Drinking and smoking is a whole nother beast, though.

Have you ever tried snus instead?

It's both disheartening and interesting to hear these stories of addiction, especially knowing that the popularity of smoking and the prevalence of drug addiction is largely a societal problem, characteristic of ones in which people live largely isolated, stress-filled existences and need an escape to alleviate it.

That aside, Superstroke, have you sought counseling about your addiction, or considered support groups? I'm definitely not an authority on the matter, since I've never smoked or had any drug addictions, but I think the worst way you can fight this on an individual basis.

author=Superstroke
Hey gang.

I've been smoking for 5+ years and a pack a day for the last 2. I'm 24. I read somewhere that it takes like 15 attempts to quit smoking on average. I think I'm somewhere in the 50+ attempts ranging from 5 months to an impressive 20 minutes quit.

I read Allen Carr's book 2 years ago, which I saw recommended left and right and I was in such a hurry to quit smoking I read it all in one night. I loved it. Didn't smoke for a week. Got drunk. Smoked.

I've tried the gum and patch in the past. I've also tried vaping, but what bothers me the most isn't the health risks, it's just being addicted to nicotine so I don't really want to switch it up for something else. All the longest quits I've had were cold turkey, so I think that's the way I wanna go.

I'm also addicted to American Spirit, a brand with a disproportionate amount of freebase nicotine. (If you don't know what freebase means here's an apt comparison: cocaine -> pretty bad, freebase cocaine -> basically pure 100% crack with no baking soda)

I swear that shit robs you of your confidence... Don't smoke kids! *cough* *cough*

Thankfully I'm not addicted to anything else. I quit drinking and quit smoking the devil's lettuce (it's legal here) a few weeks ago in preparation for quitting. Haven't really set a date but I was thinking October 1st.

I'd be curious if any of you have any experience and advice with quitting, I'd like to hear from you (or you can just call me a dumbass that's ok too, I deserve it).

It could take 15 attempts because of government subsidized prescriptions, many of which have nicotine (hair of the dog doesn't work, ppl) in them. The common plantain (not to be confused with a banana, it looks like this) curbs tobacco addiction.



Let me explain why it takes 15 attempts, there are three reasons, two of which are psychological.

1. You are using the same thing as the thing you are addicted to to curb addiction.
2. Humans stay addicted to things because of reinforcement mentality. That is, if you are told "it will be hard to quit" your mind immediately imagines worst case scenarios of not being able to. When you fail, it's because you psyched yourself out.
3. People get addicted in the first place because the addictive chemical looks like a similar chemical produced by the body. Like, many addictive drugs look like dopamine or serotonin, or sucralose looks like sugar. But when it comes time to use, the body finds there is something off. It's an imitation. And the body wants the thing, but realizes what it really needed wasn't actually given. Worse, sometimes it stops producing the real thing until being weaned off of the drug for awhile.

Find something else (non chemical) to be hooked on, tell yourself that you can actually quit and it's not hard, and use something other than nicotine to cure nicotine (even if it's just drinking water and getting it out of your system).

I wish I could find this article here again ..https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/happiness-in-world?page=1 where they talk about it. Like wisdom vs. knowing.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/happiness-in-world/201211/cigarette-smoking-is-caused-delusion-redux

There! (I think there was another one involving habit and smoking.. that actually after a full month or two any physical addicition is gone and the danger then is not that)

And wow, liking it sounds.. unreal n worrisome (on first try), and it makes me try to imagine it, and i can kinda see it (and that is worrisome, but UGH, it is testament how strong my ability to get out of my view is LOL). they always made me sick, starting as a kid, and i hated it. I've come a long way tho, and I know it's their responsibility, and that's ok. I mean, I have lotsa coworkers who smoke and it's cool.

Bulma has great points, I would only add to it that rather than just the nicotine, it also becomes a habit. People structure their life around their smokes, and take breaks for it. I know people who quit but still get the urge, because the habit is still lingering (and resist the urge, which is fine). And having smoking coworkers, they are the ones who consistently take breaks and I actually learned it from them to go outside, walk a bit, enjoy the sun, and eat something inbetween working segments.
Breaks are good. Glasses of water are good. Replace that habit with something better and keep giving yourself those breaks. Try different things. The addiction will be curbed once you abstain a while, habits last longer. So replace them with something healthy. Those things and breaks are good.
If you remember them habitually with feel-good time, social times, and breaks, you will think of smokes whenever you need either of those. So whenever you get that urge, do something else that's healthy and nice. Be that a short walk, a tea, or water, or a chat with a friend. Then, after a while, when you need those things you will think of those nice healthy alternatives to do, too.

(I was thinking of the art of manliness articles on this. If braking the habit is hard, they have a wealth of articles and compiled things on that o, in a general way https://www.artofmanliness.com/)

You can do it. Those who say it's impossible are liars, you just need to find the key thing that's holding you back. Doesn't make it easy, but it makes it possible. If you want it, keep at it friend. I believe.

EDIT:
Also! In terms of mantras. If you do use them, or try them. CLARITY is key. It's about feeding your subconscious the RIGHT idea.
"never" "not" and "no more" is NOT a picture. Our subconscious thinks in picture. "not"s and "don't"s are skipped, so avoid using them at all cost. "Not" doing something says zero about what you actually need to be doing, and your body doesn't care about all the thousand things you could be doing, it cares about what it can actually do, right now. Saying "never puff" just gives you the imagine of smoking a cigarette. So I absolutely agree that's BS to do.
You can say STOP doing it, you can say AVOID them, you can say they are TERRIBLE and DANGEROUS (if you are trying to get that association). And then you need to say what you actually WISH TO DO. What DO you want to do INSTEAD? Prioritize your health? Help your body? Be in full health? Drink a glass of water instead? Finding out what belief you really need, and which ones were holding you back is as much part of that healing process as using such mantras.

As someone who has used them to great effect, and been taught by my dearest mental mentor and psychologist Bartling-sensei (and there was also another book or two), it is fine to do as long as you are aware of that underlying idea. It's not everyone's cup of tea, I absolutely understand. It's why some forms also go a triple step too. Iike, "I choose to make health my top priority. I feel I am making health my top priority, I AM making health my top priority." -> so you don't need to fully believe in it right away, and it feels easier to use.
It takes practice and an attempt to try, just, if you ever wanted to do it, just because WHY NOT, these tips help.

Well said.